Factionally Better Than Before
by Disco Ant
Summary: The Commonwealth after the Institute was still a dangerous place, but for the sole survivor and those he came to call his friends, life continued on. Contains language, violence, and drama.
1. Chapter 1

This story was going to have a prologue until I realized recapping everything up to this point bored me, so I dropped it. I figured I could explain everything as the story went on if I wanted. I changed some things and rewrote dialog to make everything fit into the story, as game dialog and scenarios fit a game that you play, but seems strange in a story. And since I'm working on other projects and with real life getting in the way, this story will be slow to update. Enjoy.

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ONE

"Elder Maxson."

"Mister Anderson," Maxson said, his back to Steve as he stared out the window of the Prydwen's main command deck.

Steve hated when those of high command kept their back to him. He hated it when he served in the army and he hated it now. "Proctor Ingram said you wanted to see me."

Maxson glanced over his shoulder. "Yes, there is... something I wanted to discuss with you."

Steve tensed, wishing the man would just get to the point.

Maxson turned his gaze back to the window. "You traveled with Paladin Danse, did you not?"

"A short while, yes. Why?"

"Did you two talk? Did he... reveal anything to you? Any secrets?" Maxson turned and glared at Steve.

Steve glared back. "We bullshitted about a lot of things. I wouldn't call any of it secretive, though. Why?"

"Hmm." Maxson turned around once more. "So, he never mentioned anything about him being a synth."

"What?" Steve said with a laugh of disbelief. "No. He talked about killing them all. Why would he want to kill them if he is one?"

"I don't know. Why would you stand here and lie to my face?" Maxson said in annoyance.

Steve tensed. "It's hard to lie to your face when you always have your back to me! Also, I'm not lying! He never said anything to me about who or what he is! How do I know you aren't the one lying?"

Maxson scoffed. "The data you stole from the Institute and handed over to the Minutemen? We were able to get ahold of it."

"You what?" Steve growled

"In that data was the DNA of all their synths. Danse's DNA was a perfect match to a synth called M7-97."

"That data wasn't meant for you to see! Who gave it to you?!"

"Because you knew, right? You knew that what that monstrosity told you was in those files, didn't you?!"

"He didn't tell me anything," Steve said through clenched teeth. "And I never gave you that data because I had already betrayed my son enough."

Maxson raised his eyebrows and turned to face Steve. "Your son. So, it is true that the infant you searched for turned out to be the 60 year old Father of the Institute." He smirked. "Funny how things work."

Steve clenched his fists and took a step forward.

The two Knights in the room lifted their weapons.

Steve glared at them and backed off. "Paladin Danse never told me he was a synth. And even if he did, I would have never told you, because I wouldn't have cared."

"Your son corrupted your mind. Tell me, Steven," Maxson said, turning and smirking at him. "Was your son one of the people you killed when you destroyed the Institute?"

Steve paused for a few seconds while staring at the floor. "My son was ill. He died long before then."

"Shame. I was hoping he was one of those who escaped. I would have loved to interrogate him."

"Are we done here?" Steve asked as he glared at Maxson.

"No." Maxson turned his back on Steve once again. "Shortly after our discovery, Danse disappeared. I want you to find and kill him. And though you declined to join our organization I can't really force you to follow my orders. However, if you like your small and naive group of Minutemen, you should. It'd be a shame if anymore blood was spilled because of you."

"You son of a bitch..."

Maxson laughed and glanced over his shoulder. "Now we're done. Get off my ship before I have my men throw you off of her."

Steve clinched his right fist, his body shaking in anger. With nothing to say he turned and stormed out of the room.

He was given a ride from the Prydwen down to the airport, let off before the vertibird returned to the airship.

On the way out of the airport he heard his name called, turning to see Proctor Ingram approaching him.

"Steven," she said, stopping right in front of him. "I take it you saw Elder Maxson."

Steve nodded. "Yeah. Hopefully for the last time."

She gave a half smile. "He can be... overbearing at times. He's just doing what he thinks is best, like we all are." She took hold of his hand, slipping him a piece of paper.

"I know," he said, concealing the paper in his hand as Ingram pulled her hand away.

"Maybe we'll see each other again," she said, smiling before turning and walking back to the hanger.

Steve watched her, then turned and continued out of the airport.

He ducked into the neighboring parking garage and leaned against the wall, taking the paper from his hand and unfolding it. On it was written Listening Post Bravo.

...

"Danse? Danse, I know you're here." Steve walked cautiously into the main room of the bunker. Seeing nothing, he walked into the next room, spotting Danse.

His power armor now discarded, Danse sat with his head bowed, his eyes staring down at the laser pistol he held. Lifting his head, he gave Steve a troubled look. "Steven. I suppose Elder Maxson sent you?"

"Ingram told me where you were." Steve watched in concern as Danse continued staring at his weapon. He had seen that look before on the faces of those he served with before they eventually ended their lives. "What are you doing?" Steve asked as he approached Danse slowly.

"I... I don't know." Danse gripped the weapon tighter. "Nothing makes sense anymore."

"Danse." Steve held his right hand out as he took another step forward. "Danse, just give me the gun, okay?"

An upset Danse shook his head while staring down at the pistol. "If what that report says is true then I don't deserve to live." He looked at Steve, pleading for an answer. "Is it true? Am I really a synth?"

"Does it matter?" Steve reached out and placed his hand on the gun. He sighed in relief when Danse released his grip on it, allowing Steve to take it from him.

Realizing what just happened, Danse broke down.

"Hey," Steve said, sitting next to Danse and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Being a synth isn't all that bad."

"Of course it is," Danse said in anger. "Synths are the enemy of mankind."

Steve scoffed. "No, they aren't. The only enemy mankind has is itself. Synths? The Institute? They were never the enemy."

Danse sighed, narrowed eyes staring at the floor. "How can I be a synth if my memories are so vivid," he said, trying to understand everything. "I remember being a kid, growing up, meeting Cutler... Was he even real? Did any of this exist?"

"It did to somebody."

"What do you mean?"

"The Institute used memories of humans for their synths. Your memories could be from someone long ago."

"Oh." Danse stared off in thought. "What was it like? The Institute?"

Steve shrugged. "It was clean. The air was fresh. There were trees and grass and water that tasted like water. The food... wasn't really what I would call food, but it was free of radiation. Honestly, it was a pretty amazing place."

"And the people? What were they like?" He looked over at Steve as he still tried to understand everything.

"The people," Steve sighed. "They weren't what I would call human. I mean, they were, but at the same time they weren't. They just seemed cold. And most of them treated me like I was subhuman trash." He let out a laugh and shook his head. "Could have been they were just reacting to me being an asshole, though."

Danse looked at him and smiled. "And your son?"

Steve sighed. "My son was perhaps a bigger asshole than me. He wasn't mean or anything. Just... unsympathetic. To everything. I mean, I could tell he loved me and was happy that we finally met, but..." Steve stared at the floor and shrugged. "He told me that love was something the Institute didn't instill in him." He paused, the anger building the more he thought about it. "They took my son away from me, only to raise him like he was an object for their experiments. They never loved him. Probably didn't even care about him. He was just the biggest guinea pig the Institute had." He glared at the far wall as he continued to think about their conversations. "He called his mother's murder 'collateral damage'. _Collateral damage_. God, I was so pissed."

"And how did you respond to that?" Danse wondered.

"I yelled at him. About what I don't remember. I was just so angry that he could show so little emotion over the death of his own mother. She was..." Steve let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. "She was the only reason I survived the war. My only reason for living afterwards, as well."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," Danse said as he gave Steve a sorrowful look.

Steve gave a nod. "Yeah, so am I. But, look, I didn't come here to talk about my life."

"I understand." Danse stared solemnly at the floor.

"Maxson wants me to kill you. Said he'd punish the Minutemen if I didn't."

Danse nodded. "Do what you have to do, then. I'm ready to face the consequences of my existence."

Steve gave him a confused look. "I'm not going to kill you."

"But the Minutemen."

"We'll figure it out. I want you to come back to the Castle with me. I want you to meet someone."

Danse sighed in defeat. "I can't go to the Castle. I'm the enemy, remember?"

"No you're not," Steve scoffed. "Besides, you can't be in the Brotherhood while being a synth, right? So, that makes you just a normal Commonwealth resident like the rest of us. Come on."

Danse sighed and nodded. He stood and followed Steve out of the bunker.

...

Steve and Danse arrived at the Castle, walking towards the destroyed wall that now served as it's northern entrance. Steve smiled when he saw a young boy run up to him.

"Dad," the boy called out, giving Steve a big hug. "You're back."

"Hey Shaun," Steve said, rustling the boys hair.

Danse gave the boy and Steve a confused look.

"Did you ever find that microscope I wanted?" Shaun wondered.

Steve took off his backpack and reached into it, pulling out an almost brand new microscope. "Got it right here." He handed the item to the excited boy.

"Wow, it almost looks like the ones from the Institute. Thanks dad." He smiled and ran off.

"Shaun?" Danse questioned. "Your son?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah. Well, a younger version of him. A gift from my real son, reprogramed to think I'm his father."

"And he knows who he is? What he is?" Danse wondered as he watched the boy show off the microscope to MacCready.

"No. I could never tell him. One day, I'm sure, but not now."

"Does anyone know?"

"Just you." He gave Danse a serious look. "And I'd like to keep it that way."

"I understand. I won't say-"

"What is he doing here?" Ronnie Shaw hollered as she stomped up to the two men. She stopped, hands on her hips as she glared at Danse. "General, just what is the meaning of this?"

"Ronnie," Steve sighed. "Danse is one of us now. I've convinced him to join the Minutemen."

"Does Preston know about this?" she spat, now glaring at Steve.

Steve looked up and saw Preston walking towards them. "No, but he will soon." He smiled as Preston joined them.

Preston looked at Danse and then at Steve in confusion. "Why is he here?"

"Preston," Steve said. "I thought you'd be at Sanctuary."

"Sturges is keeping an eye on the place for me. What is going on here, General?"

Steve shrugged. "Danse is a synth, so the Brotherhood doesn't want him. I asked him to join us and he agreed."

"A synth?" Preston said, not happy.

"We don't want any of his kind here," Ronnie said angrily.

"You didn't say that when Curie was getting rid of your boils or whatever it was you had." Steve looked at Ronnie and smirked.

Preston stared at Ronnie in amusement.

Ronnie tensed. She glared at Preston. "Not a word from you." She looked back at Steve. "And fine, but make sure he doesn't go crazy and start killing everyone." She turned and stomped back to the armory.

"General, I-"

"Preston," Steve sighed. "He's fine, okay? The Brotherhood wants him dead, so I offered him refuge here. He'll fit right in and he's a great soldier."

"And if the Brotherhood finds out?" Preston asked, slightly worried.

Steve nodded. "I know. I wanted to talk to everyone about that. Could you gather them in the general's quarters for me? I need to go find Curie."

"Sure, General," Preston sighed, watching as Steve walked off with Danse.

Curie stood by the body of water west of the Castle, a small flat rock in her hand. "Like this?" she asked in her French accent to the Minuteman standing beside her.

"Put your fingers here, like this," the woman said, showing Curie how she was holding the rock in her hand. "And then," she flung the rock towards the water, both women watching it skip several times before sinking. "Just a quick flick of the wrist."

"I think I get it now," Curie said excitedly. She flung her rock at the water. "Oh, it skipped!" She laughed, the rock skipping twice before sinking.

"You're getting pretty good at that," Steve said as he stood behind the women.

"Steven, you've returned," Curie said with a big smile.

"General," the other woman said, standing at attention.

"Relax, please." Steve still remembered how he felt around his superiors, not wanting anyone else to feel that way around him. "I'm going to discuss things with everyone in the general's quarters. Go and tell them I'll be there shortly."

The woman nodded and ran off.

"Who is you friend?" Curie wondered, smiling curiously at Danse.

Danse tensed, a slight blush coming over his face.

"This is Danse. Danse, this is Curie."

"Hello," Curie said cheerfully, Danse replying with a grunt and a nod.

"I thought you could help him," Steve said.

"Is he sick?" Curie asked in worry.

Steve laughed. "No. At least I don't think he is."

"I'm fine," Danse said, averting his eyes from Curie.

"Oh, well that's good," Curie said with a smile. "Then what does he need help with?"

"He recently found out he's a synth. I was hoping you could convince him that it's not really a bad thing." He looked at Danse and grinned. "I'll leave you two to talk." He smiled at both and walked back to the Castle.

"Another synth," Curie said happily. "Oh, that is wonderful. But, why would you think it's bad?"

Danse stared at the ground. "I was taught by the Brotherhood that synths were something that needed to be destroyed."

Curie gasped. "That's awful. I know what the Institute did was wrong, but to kill all the synths because of it? I find that sad. I suppose that if the Brotherhood had their way I would have never gotten to be human."

Danse looked up at her in confusion. "What... what were you before?"

"Oh, I used to be a Miss Nanny robot, reprogrammed by Doctor Collins to assist in the lab of Vault 81." Curie stared off, remembering her old friend. "He was a great man. I miss him."

"And now you're a synth? By your own wishes?"

Curie nodded. "My memory overflowed with so much information that I wanted to use, but my old body was too limiting. Steven helped me get my memories transferred to this body. It was hard to get used to at first, but after awhile I found it to be the best thing that has happened to me. Everything is so new and exciting."

"And the people here accept you?" Danse wondered.

"They were... afraid at first. And then I helped with their medical needs and that is something useful, so they treated me better. Synths are just something most humans do not understand, so they fear them. Once they start to understand, they no longer feel fear." She smiled at Danse.

He smiled back. Although Curie hadn't told him much, what she said really helped him understand himself.

"You are lucky, though," Curie said. "You started out as a synth. I had to get used to having two legs. And only two arms. Oh, but fingers are such wonderful things. And emotions are so confusing. And I have to turn my head to see around me." She sighed happily. "Being a synth is so... exciting, though."

Danse chuckled. "One day I hope to be as happy about who I am as you are of you."

Curie giggled. "You will, Danse. I promise. Now, should we go and see what Steve has to say?"

Danse smiled, staring down at her and nodding.

She wrapped an arm around his and the two walked away from the water.

...

"You may as well have just sentenced us all to death by bringing that synth here," Ronnie said as she glared across the room at Steve.

"Will they really come after us?" one of the Minutemen wondered with a look of worry.

"Do we know when?" another asked.

"They'll slaughter us," came an angry voice from the back of the room.

"Listen, everyone," Steve said loudly. "We can deal with the Brotherhood."

"With their power armor?" said an angry voice.

"And their weapons?" asked another.

The whole room was suddenly filled with angry and worried voices.

Steve sighed in anger. "Shut up and listen," he yelled.

The room quieted, many of the people now glaring at Steve.

"If I may, General," Preston said, getting a nod of approval before continuing. "The Brotherhood will attack the Castle first. We know this. If we call for help from all of our other settlements, we will have enough people to defend our base, while leaving enough people at the settlements to not make them vulnerable."

"They'll just keep coming," MacCready said, leaning against the back wall with his arms crossed. "All we'll be doing is stalling our inevitable defeat."

Steve glared at him. He glanced at the doorway as Danse and Curie walked in.

"Look," MacCready sighed. "Not to be rude or anything, but you've never dealt with the Brotherhood of Steel before. We have. And we know what they're like and what they do."

Ronnie nodded. "They come in and take the place over. One day you're living life how you want, the next thing you know you're being forced to live by a strict set of rules. Just ask your new friend here," she said, glaring at Danse. "He knows."

"Exactly," MacCready said, agreeing with Ronnie. "And they said they were rebuilding Liberty Prime to take care of the Institute. Well, the Institute is gone and yet they keep building it. Don't tell me the thoughts of that giant robot walking around doesn't scare the crap out of you."

"It is true that Liberty Prime's construction is still ongoing," Danse said. "Elder Maxson said it would benefit the Commonwealth in the disposal of super mutants and ferals."

"Oh come on," an irritated MacCready said. "I mean, I probably hate ferals more than anyone here, but you don't need a forty foot tall frickin robot to kill them!"

The room became full of the murmurs of people worried of the Brotherhoods power.

"You've put a target on all of our backs, General," Ronnie said harshly.

"I'm sorry, General, but I have to agree with Ronnie," Preston said.

Danse sighed. "My presence here has put too many people in danger. I will return to the Prydwen and face my punishment. Perhaps Elder Maxson will show you forgiveness."

"No," Steve insisted. "You're staying here."

"The Prydwen," Preston said in thought. "We destroy the Prydwen."

The people in the room looked at him, everyone giving it some thought.

Steve glanced at MacCready, who stared at him and shook his head slowly. "Well?" he asked.

"Not a good idea. At all. I mean, it sounds good, but getting on that thing will be a suicide mission. Plus, if you do manage to blow it up, the Brotherhood will just request more help from the Capital Wasteland and then we will be screwed."

"He won't need to get on it," Preston said. "Nobody will. If we build enough artillery batteries in our settlements around the Prydwen, we could attack the airship from all of them at once and bring it down."

"Okay, but they'll still request help."

"And if they don't?" Preston looked at MacCready for an answer. "If we were to send that big of a message to them, maybe they would see it isn't worth more lives to retaliate."

MacCready sighed. "This is the Brotherhood of Steel we're talking about."

Danse stared down in thought. "It could work."

"And the people on the ship?" Steve wondered.

Ronnie let out an irritated sigh. "Why would you care about them, General?"

He glared at her. "Not everyone on that ship is a monster."

Danse gave Steve a serious look. "If Elder Maxson told them to kill me for being a synth, they wouldn't hesitate to do so. Does that not make them monsters?"

Steve sighed. He thought back to the war. Young American men and young Chinese men killing each other because their governments were fighting. People killing and being killed for no other reason than politicians deciding it had to be that way. "We let the people in the Institute escape. Why not the people on the Prydwen?"

Preston scoffed. "We weren't saving those people, General. We were forcing them to live in the world they created. The world they gave to us."

"Wouldn't be surprised if they're all dead by now," Ronnie muttered.

Steve looked around the room as everyone stared at him, waiting for his decision. He bowed his head and sighed. "Build the artillery batteries. Preston, I'm putting you in charge of this."

"Thank you, General," Preston said with a nod.

Everyone then watched as Steve left the room.

...

"Are you still sad?"

Steve looked away from the sunset and down at his son. "A little."

Almost two weeks had passed since he put Preston in charge. The settlements were finishing up building the artillery pieces and preparing for the attack on the Prydwen.

"Oh." Shaun stared down at the ground. "Danse said the Brotherhood of Steel were the bad guys. He said they would kill him and Curie if they found them. Is that true?"

"Yeah," Steve sighed.

"Then... why are you sad?" Shaun looked up at his dad, trying to understand the situation. "I mean, isn't defeating them a good thing?"

"It isn't that easy, Shaun." He looked down at the boy and forced a smile. "You shouldn't be worried about any of this, anyway. Let's go inside and get you to bed, okay?"

"Do I have to?" Shaun whined. "I wanted to start taking that old telephone apart."

"Fine," Steve sighed. "Do that and then go to bed."

Shaun smiled big. "Thanks dad. I love you," he said as he ran off.

Steve laughed and shook his head. His smile slowly faded as he once again stared off at the horizon.

...

"General," Preston called out.

Steve, walking down the halls of the Castle, stopped and turned.

"General," Preston said again as he ran up to Steve. "The settlements are ready to attack."

"And?"

"I thought you might want to start the countdown."

"You're the one in charge," Steve said as he continued walking. "I was never for this plan and you know it."

Preston stared at Steve in disappointment.

Steve stopped and looked behind him. "Make sure everyone is ready for a possible counter attack."

Preston nodded, then rushed off to get the message out to the other settlements.

Everyone from the Castle had gathered outside, their eyes staring up at the Prydwen. In the distance the countdown started.

Shaun looked up at his dad, at the pain visible on his face, and took hold of his hand.

Steve glanced down, his expression softening some as he gently squeezed Shaun's hand.

"One," said the voice over the speakers. "Fire when ready."

The large cannon on the wall of the Castle went off, the force shaking the ground. In the distance the blasts from the other cannons could be heard.

The people watched as the artillery tore through the Prydwen, which quickly burst into flames. As it fell to the ground almost everyone around Steve cheered.

"Those poor people," he heard one voice say.

"Tch, they deserved it," Ronnie spat.

Steve tensed and slowly closed his eyes, unable to watch the carnage before him anymore. 'I'm sorry,' he thought as he tried to block out the faint screams in the distance.

"Vertibirds incoming," one of the Minutemen on the wall yelled.

Steve opened his eyes and watched as the dark objects in the sky got closer.

"They didn't waste any time," MacCready said as he grabbed his rifle.

Steve looked around as everyone started running towards the Castle. "Curie," he yelled, scanning the area for her.

"Yes, Steven," she wondered as she approached.

"Take Shaun with you to the armory," he said, his voice urgent. "Close and lock the door and don't come out until you know it's safe."

"Dad?" Shaun said as Curie grabbed his hand and started leading him away. "Dad!"

"It's going to be okay, son," Steve said.

"Don't leave me," Shaun said, fear in his voice and tears in his eyes.

"I won't. I promise."

"I love you," Shaun cried.

Steve held back his own tears. "I love you, too, Shaun." He gave the boy one last look before he ran to the Castle to grab his rifle.

Curie got Shaun to the armory, holding onto him as the large metal door came down and shut tight.

"No," Shaun yelled, getting free and running to the door, pounding his fists against it. "No," he said, leaning his head against the cold metal and crying.

Curie stared down at him in sadness. "Come on, Shaun," she said gently, leading the boy to where the weapons were stored.

They got to the room, Curie grabbing a rifle before sitting against one of the walls with Shaun, who sat next to her and held his hands over his ears, trying his best to block out the muffled sounds of gunfire and explosions around him.

Curie wrapped an arm around Shaun and started to hum a song that had been programmed into her long ago.

Outside, the battle raged. Gunfire rained down on the Minutemen from the vertibirds that circled the Castle, while Brotherhood members in power armor fell from the sky to fight them on the ground.

The turrets on the walls fired at the Brotherhood members while the Minutemen fired lasers and missiles at the vertibirds.

Steve positioned himself on the Castle's wall and fired at the Brotherhood below with his rifle.

"Look out," one of the Minutemen yelled.

Steve looked to his right, a flaming vertibird plummeting towards him. His eyes widened and he scrambled to his feet, running as the burning mass of metal crashed behind him, the force throwing him several yards forward. He landed hard on the stone, glancing at the flames before falling unconscious.

...

"General," Preston yelled, running up to Steve and kneeling next to him. "General."

Others had gathered around, staring down at their leader, waiting to hear what his condition was.

Preston looked Steve over and then turned to the others. "I think he's fine. Just got knocked out. Help me take him to his quarters."

Danse stepped forward, he and Preston carrying Steve down below and laying him in bed.

"We'll get Curie to look at him," Preston said.

Danse nodded. "She's with the boy. I'll go get her."

"Okay." Preston let out a long sigh and sat down behind the desk in the middle of the room.

"I can watch him if you want to rest," MacCready said as he walked into the room.

"No," Preston sighed. "I'm fine."

MacCready stared at Steve and let out a laugh of disbelief. "That was a hell of a fight."

"Sure was," Preston chuckled.

"I can't believe we won. I mean, who would have thought a bunch of lightweights could defeat the Brotherhood of Steel."

"I'm just glad the plan worked. That's what had me worried."

"Wait, you didn't think it'd work?" MacCready said with an incredulous stare.

"Not really. I mean, the General said it was just like a big balloon, so I figured it wasn't that powerful. But, like you said, this is the Brotherhood we're talking about." He paused. "Do you think they'll still return with back-up?"

"After what we just pulled? No way. Plus, with the Institute gone, I'm sure they want nothing more to do with this place."

Preston nodded. "I hope you're right."

"Me, too."

The two turned as Shaun ran into the room, Danse and Curie trailing behind.

"Dad," Shaun said in a panic as he stood over Steve.

"He's gonna be fine, kid," MacCready said. "It's like I said, your dad can't die. He's immortal."

Shaun gave MacCready an irritated stare. "Humans aren't immortal. And my dad was born before synths even existed, so he isn't one of them, either."

"You're too smart for me, kid," MacCready sighed, giving a shrug as he walked out of the room.

"He's going to be okay, right?" Danse wondered.

Curie looked over Steve. "This is not really my expertise, but he looks okay?" She gave them a questioning stare, which seemed to dampen the mood in the room. "I mean to say that he is not bleeding externally, there are no bones sticking out of him, and he is breathing normally."

"The General said you came from a vault," Preston said. "There were doctors in that vault, right?"

Curie shrugged. "Possibly? I spent all my time in the lab with the other scientists. Well, until they died. Once Steven found me and we left the vault, I never returned."

"I will prepare a team," Danse started, "and head to the vault in search of a doctor."

"No," Preston said. "We need everyone here in case more Brotherhood members come. We can send a message to them and hope that they get it. Or that they respond. Right now, that's all we can do."

The room went silent, everyone staring in worry at Steve as he continued his deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm not a huge fan of flashbacks, but for some reason put them into this chapter. I guess they work? I don't know. Enjoy the chapter and thanks to everyone who has been reading my story.

* * *

TWO

Curie continued to monitor Steve throughout the night. And though his condition hadn't changed, she stayed positive, as at least he wasn't getting worse.

"How is he?" MacCready asked as he entered the room.

"His diagnosis is still the same," Curie said. She stared down, thinking of the words she wanted to say. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He looked away from Steve to Curie.

"It is a strange thing, these emotions I am feeling. So many of them at once. Is there a name for it? What is it called, the emotion that one feels when someone they care about is hurt?"

MacCready shook his head and shrugged. "Sadness? Pain? Anger? Guilt? I don't know," he sighed. "You'll just have to figure it out yourself, I guess."

"You are his friend, yes? What are you feeling right now?"

"Everything I mentioned," he said in annoyance. He glanced at Curie and sighed. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to take everything out on you. It's just... God, I need a cigarette."

Curie said nothing, watching in curiosity as he left the room.

MacCready, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips, walked towards the north entrance of the Castle. "Hey," he said as he passed the man standing guard.

"Hey, you're back," the man said.

MacCready lit the cigarette, taking a drag as he stared in confusion at the man.

"I didn't see you come in," the man continued. "Must have gone around the back, huh?"

"What are you talking about? I've been here this whole time."

"You have? Oh. Must have another Robert here I don't know about."

"No, we don't. Why are we even having this conversation?" MacCready stared in annoyance at the man.

"Well, that kid, Shaun, ran out of here with a rifle, saying that a Mister Robert was going to teach him how to shoot. I just assumed it was you."

"He what?" MacCready said, almost yelling the words as a panic rushed over him. "When did he leave?"

"About an hour ago," the man said, clueless as to what was going on.

MacCready muttered some words under his breath as he started to run off, stopping and turning towards the man. "If anyone asks for me, tell them I had something to do," he said before leaving.

"Yeah, sure," the man said, shrugging it off and going back to his duties.

...

Shaun gripped the rifle in his hands tighter, every strange noise in the darkness making him that much more afraid.

The loud stomping of a group of super mutants froze him in place. He glanced over his shoulder as they approached him from around a building.

"What's that?" one of the super mutants said, the others all eying the boy.

Shaun let out a whimper and took off running.

"Stupid puny human," another super mutant yelled as they all gave chase.

Shaun ran down alleyways and climbed over piles of debris. His method of escaping ended up attracting a group of feral ghouls.

The ferals ran after him, their loud screeching attracting a settlement of raiders, who started shooting at them. The shooting angered the super mutants, who forgot all about Shaun and began to attack the raiders.

Shaun didn't notice he had nobody chasing him, running blindly through the darkness of South Boston.

Ahead of him he spotted the remains of a small house, running inside and taking shelter in a closet.

His body trembling, he pulled his knees to his chest, tightly wrapping his arms around them before bowing his head and sobbing.

He wasn't sure when he had passed out or for how long. When he opened his eyes everything around him was quiet and dark. It didn't take him long to remember where he was and why.

The fear once again returning, he picked the rifle up off the floor and held it close to him, his only protection in this dangerous new world. Slowly opening the closet door, he peaked out into the room, a faint light streaming in through the windows as the sun was starting to rise.

Standing, he left the closet and took a deep breath. "I need to be brave, like dad. He'd want me to be brave," he said to himself, the words not doing a thing as he was still terrified. Knowing that time was short, he forced himself to leave the building.

Shaun had no idea where Vault 81 was. The only thing he knew was it was west of Diamond City. And he didn't know where that was, either, other than west of where the Castle was.

The rising sun at his back, Shaun continued on, always on high alert as he walked through the once populated ruins.

It was then a relief for him to come to a large clearing, Shaun feeling it better to be able to see your enemies rather than having them pop up out of nowhere. And the fact he didn't see anything calmed his nerves.

A few yards into that clearing, however, that calm was broken as the ground below his feet began to shake. He froze as five large mole rats burrowed up to the surface, their noses twitching and their teeth exposed as they snarled at him.

He lifted the rifle, aiming at one that ran towards him. Hands trembling, he could only stare in fright, unable to pull the trigger.

A shot rang out and Shaun watched as the mole rat fell to the ground dead. Four more shots sounded and then silence.

Shaun looked around him at the dead mole rats, then quickly turned towards the footsteps coming from behind.

"Shaun," MacCready yelled as he ran up to the boy. "What the hell were you thinking running off like that?"

Shaun looked down and gave a small shrug.

"I've been all over this damn place looking for you! If I hadn't found you when I did you would have been killed," MacCready said, continuing to scold the boy. "Are you insane?"

"I just... I just wanted to help my dad." Shaun looked up as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He dropped the rifle and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around MacCready.

MacCready sighed, the anger dissipating. "It's okay, kid," he said as he wrapped an arm around the crying boy. "It's okay." He glanced around him, starting to get nervous being that out in the open. "Hey, how about we keep moving, okay?"

Shaun stepped back, his head lowered, and nodded.

"I'll take this," MacCready said as he picked up Shaun's rifle. "When your dad gets better he can teach you how to use it."

Shaun sniffled and nodded, the two continuing on towards the west.

It was nearly four hours later when they reached the vault, both standing and staring into the cave entrance.

"Well, here we are," a tired MacCready sighed. "Come on."

Shaun said nothing as he followed MacCready into the cave. He stared down as they walked over a metal walkway, the flashing lights on the wall in front of him making him look up, his eyes staring blankly at the entrance of the vault. "Are... are you going to tell my dad what I did?" Shaun wondered as the two passed through the open door.

"That's not really my place. I think he needs to hear it from you."

Shaun sighed and stared down, not looking forward to the punishment he knew was coming.

"More outsiders," Scott Edwards, one of the security guards for the vault, said as he glared at the two.

"I've been here before, you moron," MacCready muttered as he glared back.

"Yeah, thought you looked familiar. Go on in. And try not to start anything." Edwards watched as the two walked by him.

They stepped onto the elevator, the doors closing and the two making their way down.

"Are all the vaults the same?" Shaun wondered. "Is this what me and my parents were in?"

"Oh, so you know you were in a vault?"

"Yeah. My dad told me. He said we were frozen and that the Institute came and took me away. I was too little to remember."

"Oh." MacCready gave Shaun a confused look, the boy saying it as if it was something that happened all the time. "Well, the vault you guys were in was a lot different. This one is less... morbid. I guess..."

"Oh, okay." Shaun looked at his surroundings as they stepped off the elevator. He took in everything around him, amazed by it all, as they headed to the Overseer's office.

"Overseer," MacCready said as they entered.

Gwen sat at her desk and looked up at them. "MacCready, right?"

He nodded. "Good memory."

"Well, you have a memorable face," she said seriously.

"I'll pretend that's a good thing," he muttered.

"So, what can I do for you and your... son?"

MacCready looked down at Shaun and then back at Gwen. "Oh, no. This is Shaun, Steve's kid. Steve is why we're here, actually."

"Is everything okay?"

"Not... not really," he sighed. "We were in this big battle and Steve got knocked out. In my experience people usually wake up shortly after, but it's been almost a day and he still hasn't woken up."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Can we help in any way? Is he here?"

"No, he's back at the Castle."

"The where?"

MacCready sighed. "He's east of here, on the coast. We were kind of hoping you'd let us borrow one of your doctors to take back with us."

"Take one of our doctors?" Gwen looked at him in annoyance. "One doctor is all we have. Well, there's Rachel, but she's just an assistant."

"We already have one of those. Sort of. Look, we just need him for a couple of days. We'll return him unharmed."

"Please," Shaun said.

Gwen sighed. "It'll be up to him whether he wants to go or not. I'm not promising anything."

"That's fine," MacCready said.

"Follow me."

The two followed her out of the office and down to the medical room, where the doctor was checking up on one of his younger patients.

"Doctor Forsythe," Gwen said.

"Overseer," he said, finishing up with his patient. "How can I help you?"

"You remember Mister MacCready."

"Yes, I do," Forsythe said, giving him a nod.

"He needs to talk to you about something."

"Yes?"

"I need you to come back to the Castle with us," MacCready said with an almost pleading look.

"Oh yeah, I heard the Minutemen retook that place. Why do you want me there?"

"Steve is injured. He got knocked out and he isn't waking up."

"Hmm." Forsythe stared off in thought. "What are his symptoms?"

"Can we talk about them on the way," an impatient MacCready said.

Forsythe scoffed. "I'm an old man. I'm in no way suited to survive outside the vault. Tell me his symptoms and maybe I can help. Or bring him here."

"We'll protect you," MacCready insisted.

Forsythe raised an eyebrow. "You and the boy?"

"Okay, fine. I'll protect you."

Gwen stepped forward. "If you do decide to go, we can send some of our security to accompany you."

"Our security has never been outside before," Forsythe said with a laugh. "That doesn't make me feel any safer."

Shaun gave Forsythe a saddened look. "Please, doctor. You have to save my dad."

MacCready let out another frustrated sigh. "We're wasting time here. Look, as far as I see it, you owe us. Or at least you owe Steve. If it wasn't for him that kid would have died. We risked our asse... our butts fighting off diseased mole rats to get that cure."

Forsythe stared at the floor in thought. "You're right. Austin would have died if not for your help. Fine, I'll go back with you. Let me just grab some of my things."

"Thanks, doctor," MacCready said, meaning it.

"Thank you, sir," Shaun said.

Forsythe nodded and walked to the back room.

"Rachel," Gwen called out to the woman sitting at a desk. "Help these two out while they're waiting, okay?"

Rachel nodded and stood, walking towards them. "Hi. I never introduced myself when you were last here. I'm Rachel, Doctor Forsythe's assistant. Let's have a look at you."

"Check the kid out first," MacCready said as he took a seat. "I'll wait."

Okay," Rachel said. She looked down at Shaun and smiled. "Come over to my desk and I'll fix you up."

She led him to a chair near her desk and he sat. She sat down across from him and started checking him out.

MacCready leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, able to get a few minutes of rest.

"Sir?" Rachel said.

MacCready opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"I'm ready to see you now," she said with a smile.

He stood up and sat where Shaun had been sitting, Rachel sitting across from him.

"Anything bothering you?" she wondered.

"My stomach hurts a little from the rads, but that's pretty much it."

"Okay, I can take care of that." She opened a drawer and pulled out a small syringe. "You know, I'm surprised at how resilient your son is."

"He's not my son," MacCready said, wincing from the shot. "He belongs to a friend of mine."

"Oh, well, I was shocked to see that he showed no signs of radiation poisoning at all. I figured that a child would soak it up more than an adult."

"He didn't have any?" MacCready asked in confusion.

"Nope."

"That's weird. Well, he did live with the Institute for most of his life, so maybe they had some sort of super drug they put into him."

"He was with the Institute?" she said in a hushed, yet shocked, voice.

"Yeah, they kidnapped him when he was a baby. Bastards probably used him for their experiments."

She looked back in sadness at Shaun as he sat and looked around the room. "The poor thing."

"Yeah. The kids probably going to have a real messed up life when he's older. But, at least he's free of them."

"I'm happy we're all free of them," Rachel said in relief.

The two looked over at Forsythe as he left the back room with a closed bag.

"You ready?" MacCready asked.

"Not really," Forsythe said, a bit apprehensively. "But I have what I need."

"Okay." MacCready stood and looked down at Rachel. "Thanks for the meds."

"You're welcome," she replied. "And be safe."

Shaun stood as the two men approached him, the three leaving the room and taking the elevator up to the entrance.

Gwen, standing with two guards, turned towards them as they stepped off the elevator. "I got you two of our best to take along with you."

MacCready stared at the men, not overly impressed by them. "Please tell me you know how to shoot those," he said as he motioned to the 10 millimeter pistols in their holsters.

"Well," one of the guards said, "we've never had to use them, but it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Oh yeah, it's really simple," MacCready said sarcastically. He gave them an annoyed stare. "I hope you two can run fast, at least."

"Well," the other guard started.

"I don't want to know," MacCready groaned. "Let's just get out of here."

"Good luck," Gwen called out. "And I'm counting on you to keep our doctor safe, MacCready."

MacCready gave her a wave as he led the others out of the vault.

...

Curie's mind was busy figuring out the various formulas she was working on when something caught her attention. She looked up at the bed where Steve laid.

He mumbled some inaudible words and shifted a little on the mattress before settling back down.

Curie smiled at him, the smile quickly fading when his breaths became raspy and shallow. She stood, glancing behind her. "Preston," she said, the man having taken a nap on the couch. "Preston," she said louder. She was then startled as Steve's body began convulsing.

Preston sat up on the couch. "Shit," he said, seeing Steve. He jumped to his feet and ran to the bed. "He's having a seizure," he said, panic stricken.

"What do we do?" Curie asked in worry.

Preston placed his hands on Steve's shoulders and held him down. "Hold his legs."

Curie rushed over and placed her hands around his ankles. "And this will help?"

"I don't know," Preston said, his voice raised. "I've never had to deal with this before." He stared down at Steve's face as it held a look of anger.

...

_"Hey, honey," Steve called to his wife from the bathroom as he washed the remnants of shaving cream from his face. "We should go to the park again tonight."_

_Nora stepped in the doorway with a look of disbelief. "Really?"_

_Steve grinned at her reflection in the mirror. "Hey, I didn't hear you complaining last night."_

_She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Last night was a disaster. We're just lucky nobody heard us. Or saw us."_

_"It wasn't that bad," he laughed. "Come on. With all these doctor visits we barely see each other. And it wasn't like I got that kind of excitement in Alaska."_

_"You better not of," she scoffed. "I know someone who's a very good divorce lawyer, and I would hate to have to call him."_

_He turned as she grinned at him. "I would hate that, too," he said, leaning forward and kissing her lips._

_She wrapped her arms around him as the kiss deepened. "Wait," she said, pulling away. "Let's not do this now."_

_He smiled, leaning in and kissing down her neck. "Why not?"_

_"Because," she said in a breathy sigh. She forced her hands to his chest and pushed him away. "You have a doctor's appointment to go to and I have to meet Ellen for brunch."_

_"Fine," he sighed. "Tonight at the park, then?"_

_"We'll see. Now, hurry up and finish getting dressed. You don't want to be late again. I'm getting tired of-"_

_Her words were cut off by a loud boom and crash from outside._

_"Get down," Steve yelled, grabbing and pulling her down with him._

_"Steven, it's fine. Just calm down."_

_"Stay here," he ordered, rushing off to the bedroom and grabbing his pistol._

_Her eyes widened when she saw him rush by the bathroom with it in his hands. "Steven, wait," she called out, running after him._

_Steve ran outside, noticing a car sticking halfway out of his neighbors now wrecked house and the couple who lived there standing nearby arguing._

_"You know how much this is gonna cost me?" the man yelled at his cowering wife. "How much overtime I'm gonna have to work?! I can barely afford this damn house and now this?!"_

_"I'm sorry, Edward," the wife said with a shaky voice. "I told you it was an accident."_

_"I don't give a shit what it was," Edward yelled. "You goddamn, good for nothing-"_

_"Hey," Steve shouted, walking towards Edward while pointing his pistol at him._

_"The fuck?" the man said, widened eyes staring at the gun._

_"Step away from her, you son of a bitch," Steve yelled, stopping with the gun just inches from his neighbors chest._

_"Oh my god," the man's wife whimpered._

_"I said step away!" Steve said as his finger began to tighten on the trigger._

_"Steven," Nora said as she rushed towards him._

_"Your husband's a fucking nutbag, lady!" Edward yelled, trying not to let the fear show in his voice._

_Steve's hand shook, a look of rage on his face. "Don't you ever talk to my wife like that!"_

_"Steven, honey," Nora pleaded. "Look at me. Look at me!" She placed her hand on his left cheek and pulled his head towards her. "It's okay. Just... just lower the gun and come inside. Please."_

_He made eye contact with her, the rage slowly draining from him and his mind becoming clear. He then began to panic, looking at his neighbor and the gun he had pointed at him. He stepped back and quickly lowered his arm._

_"Steven?" Nora said as she tried to connect with him once more. "It's okay. Everything is okay."_

_"The hell it is," Edward yelled. "Your husband's insane, lady! He needs to be committed! I'm calling the police!"_

_Steve dropped the gun and held his head, his breathing labored as he began to have a panic attack. "I'm sorry," he said between breaths. "Nora, I'm so sorry." He looked at her as the tears rolled down his cheeks._

_"It's okay, Steven," she cried while comforting him. "It's going to be okay."_

_"I'm sorry," he cried. "I'm sorry, Nora."_

_She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as he sobbed._

...

"Sorry," Steve muttered, a look of pain on his face as tears rolled down his temples.

Curie stared down at him, overjoyed that he was still with them. "Steven," she said as she grabbed one of his hands in hers.

"Nora, I'm sorry," he said, the words trailing off as he continued his sleep.

"It will be okay, Steven," Curie said as she gave a worried smile. "Everything will be okay."

...

The sun was almost below the horizon line when MacCready, Shaun, and the others approached the Castle.

An angry MacCready limped towards the entrance, his leg wrapped in a blood soaked bandage.

"Come on," Shaun said, grabbing Forsythe's hand and pulling him along as he hurried inside.

"Hold on, son," Forsythe said. "I can't run as fast as I used to."

"Don't I know it," MacCready muttered under his breath.

"Hey, you're back," the same guard from before said.

"Shut up," MacCready said angrily as he hobbled past him.

The two guards from the vault remained quiet as they followed behind, nodding at the guard as they walked by him.

Curie was busy dabbing Steve's head with a damp cloth when Shaun and Forsythe entered the room.

"I brought a doctor," Shaun said, staring in worry at his dad's pale face. "What's wrong with him?"

"Tell me his symptoms," Forsythe said to Curie as he rushed to the bed and started checking Steve's pulse.

"He developed a high fever almost three hours ago. Before that he had labored breathing and also seizures."

"Seizures?" Forsythe looked up at Curie. "How many?"

"Three so far."

Forsythe opened Steve's eyes and looked at his pupils. He sighed and shook his head. "This isn't good."

"I gave him a stimpak hoping it'd help with the fever, but it did nothing."

"He's gonna die, isn't he?" Shaun said as he stared down with tear filled eyes at his dad. He let out a sob before rushing out of the room.

Preston, on his way to see Steve, stepped off to the side as Shaun ran by him. He watched him for a few seconds before entering the room. "What's going on?" he wondered as he looked at Forsythe.

Forsythe looked up at him. "Ah, good, another hand. Come over and help."

"Sure." Preston walked over to the bed, the doctor having laid out his tools on a wooden side table. "What's going on? Who are you?"

"Doctor Forsythe. Some of your people came and said they needed my help."

"Really? Well, that's great. I'm glad you're here."

"So am I. Steve wouldn't have made it, otherwise." He looked around, noticing a small sink in the back of the room. "Does that work?"

"Yeah," Preston said. "Water's clean." He watched as Forsythe walked to it and started washing his hands. "So, what's going on? What do you need my help with?"

"I need to perform surgery."

"Surgery," Preston said in shock.

"From what I've seen and heard I believe he has an internal head bleed. The blood is putting pressure on his brain and causing the seizures. I need to get in there and alleviate that pressure."

"And you've done this before?"

"Once, many years ago." He looked up at Curie and Preston. "I hope you two can handle the sight of blood."

"Sure," Preston said slowly, not knowing what he was getting himself into.

"I will be fine," Curie said.

"Good, now wash up and let's get started."

...

Shaun sat in the Castle courtyard, his back leaning against the stone wall and his eyes staring down at Dogmeat, who had rested his head in Shaun's lap and was loving the pets and ear rubs he was getting from the boy.

"Hey," MacCready said. "Can I sit?"

Shaun shrugged. "I guess," he muttered.

MacCready grunted in pain as he lowered himself to the ground.

"How is your leg?" Shaun asked expressionless, his eyes staying on Dogmeat.

"It'll heal," he said. "Fuc... stupid raiders," he muttered. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag as he stared up at the night sky. "I just wanted to apologize for all that immortal stuff I said about your dad."

"It's fine," Shaun mumbled.

"No, it's not." MacCready glanced over at Shaun and sighed. "It's just that, when I first met your dad, I didn't think that much of him. He showed up wearing a vault suit with a bunch of mismatched armor over it. He looked pretty ridiculous," he said with a small laugh. "He said he wanted my help in taking out something. Not some_body_, but some_thing_. I have to admit that got my attention."

"What was it?" Shaun wondered, looking up at him for the first time.

MacCready glanced at the boy, whose sad expression made him a little depressed. "Um," he said, looking back at the sky, "it was a courser."

Shaun nodded. "I met some of them at the Institute. They weren't very nice."

"No, they weren't. The one we fought was especially not nice. I mean, when I finally got it out of your dad exactly what we were going after I almost backed out. Hunting down a courser was a sure way of getting yourself killed. Your dad didn't care, though, because it was the only way he could see you again. And that alone made me stick with him.

"Shortly after we left Goodneighbor we ran into a group of raiders. Your dad made an impossible shot and hit one of them right between the eyes. I couldn't believe it. He was a better shot than me. He sensed things I didn't and almost every bullet fired at him missed. I couldn't believe that some vault dweller had that kind of talent. And luck.

"That first night when we set up camp I asked him about it. He opened up and told me everything. A guy he hadn't known for a day and he's telling me this crazy story. And he was serious about it. I didn't quite believe it, but I took him for his word. He was paying me, after all.

"The next day we left and ended up running into a sentry bot." MacCready scoffed and shook his head. "Your dad told me to keep it busy. I didn't really know how I was supposed to do that, so I just hid behind a boulder and shot blindly at it. I peak around the rock and see your dad sneaking behind it and jumping onto it's back. The thing spun around like crazy, but your dad hung on and somehow managed to pry the back door open and take out the fusion core. I had never seen anyone do something that stupid before. I mean, it worked, so I guess it wasn't that stupid, but still..."

A slight smile formed on Shaun's lips. "My dad is really brave."

"Yeah, he is," MacCready said with a smile. "He's also the most caring man I've ever met. Sounds kind of sappy, but it's the truth. After we killed the courser we headed back to Goodneighbor. On the way there he asked me about myself. I could have given some bullsh... some crappy made-up story, but I ended up telling him everything. I don't know why I did, but I'm glad it all came out.

"He helped me take care of my problem with the gunners. And then while we were waiting for the information needed to get into the Institute, your dad helped me get the cure I needed for my son."

"You have a son?" Shaun asked.

"Yeah. Duncan. He's almost six now." He stared off, unable to believe that his son was that old. 'Where did the time go?' he thought.

"Where is he? Why isn't he with you?"

"He... he's at my house. When I left him he was really sick." He started to choke up, thinking back at how his son could barely walk and how weak he was getting. He cleared his throat and thought about something else. "He's a lot better now, though. Or so I've heard."

"Why are you here and not at your house with him?"

"Uh..." MacCready stared down and sighed. "I don't know. I mean, I was gonna go home once everything here was done and your dad didn't need me anymore. But, now, I don't know. God, I'm so stupid." He stared at the sky and had a laugh at his expense. "I'm just... I'm afraid. Afraid of getting him back and then losing him. Afraid he won't even recognize me anymore. Afraid he'll hate me for leaving him." He stared with narrowed eyes at the ground, angry at himself for even having such thoughts.

"I was too young to remember my dad," Shaun said as he stared off. "But, when I saw him, I just knew who he was. I knew he was my dad. Father told me that I would, but I didn't really believe him."

"Father?" MacCready glanced at Shaun in confusion.

"He was the Director of the Institute. Everyone called him Father. Maybe because he was old? I don't know. He was nice, though. I liked him. My dad told me he was really sick and that he died. He seemed really sad about it."

"Oh," a confused MacCready said. "Well, listen kid, your dad may not be immortal, but he's crazy enough to fight death. And even crazier enough to win. Try not to worry too much about him, okay?"

Shaun looked down and nodded. "I'll try," he said sadly. "Thank you, Mister Robert."

MacCready groaned. "When I asked you to call me Robert, I meant leave the Mister part off. You're making me feel old." He looked at Shaun and grinned. "I'm gonna go check on your dad and then get some sleep."

"Goodnight, Mist... Goodnight, Robert."

"Goodnight, Shaun."

...

_Steve held his laser rifle loosely as he and his men made their way over a snowy peak._

_"Team Delta is waiting for us on the other side of this ridge," his commanding officer said._

_Steve couldn't wait to get there. Sitting down by a warm fire and having a nice hot meal before getting a few hours of sleep in. He looked up at the trail they walked. Every step he took he just felt like the peak was getting farther away._

_The men around him chatted about various things: a warm fire, food, their past firefights, their families, wondering about the snow storm that was predicted to hit the following day._

_Steve stopped to catch his breath. He stared up at the trail again, then looked behind him to make sure they were actually making progress and not just walking in place._

_"Keep it moving, Anderson," his commanding officer barked._

_He took a deep breath and continued on._

_They got to the top of the peak and looked down at the camp below, lanterns on the ground and a large fire burning near two large tents._

_"Can't wait to get to that fire," one of the soldiers said._

_"I can't wait to get out of these wet socks," another voiced._

_"Sir," Steve said, "something doesn't seem right."_

_"You're just paranoid, Anderson. Now everyone quit your whining and let's move," the CO barked._

_The men sighed and continued down the slope._

_The closer they got to the camp the more suspicious everything seemed. The place was quiet and still, looking like nobody had been there for some time._

_They got to the middle of the camp and stopped, looking around._

_Loud yells broke the silence as Chinese forces jumped up from the snow they had been hiding in._

_"Ambush," the CO yelled._

_Steve and his men grouped together, their backs to each other as they shot at the Chinese soldiers surrounding them._

_They seemed endless. No matter how many bodies littered the ground more came._

_Steve could do nothing but watch as those around him were picked off. He screamed their names as they fell, the men he had served all those months with now just lifeless bodies around his feet._

_He let out a yell and kept shooting, pulling the trigger long after his fusion cell emptied._

_He picked up one of his fallen comrades rifles and continued firing on the Chinese soldiers. He looked over his shoulder, seeing that not many of his team were left._

_It was then he spotted the suit of power armor standing behind one of the tents. Knowing it was his only chance he turned and ran towards it._

_He grunted in pain and fell as the back of his upper right thigh was shot._

_Laying face down in the snow, the pain enveloping him, he knew he had to get up. He knew he couldn't die. Not then. Not like that. Not when he had his whole life in front of him. And especially not when he hadn't proposed to the girl he promised to come back to, the girl he was madly in love with._

_He struggled to his feet and limped as fast as he could towards the armor. He yelled in pain as a bullet hit him in the ass, but he kept moving. He knew he had to reach that armor. If not for his own selfish reasons, then for the men he called his brothers._

_He finally reached the suit and stepped inside of it. Bending down, he grabbed the gatling gun sitting nearby and lifted it up. "Everybody get down," he yelled, waiting for the few soldiers left to lay on the ground before he opened fire._

_He screamed as the bullets flew, ripping through anything and anyone in their path. He watched as the bodies of his enemies fell, even those who were busy running away. Usually he would have let them go, but his mind was too full of rage to think of anything other than killing those around him._

_He made a full sweep and then another before the gun ran out of ammo. He let out a scream and threw the gun down. Exhausted, he lowered his head and caught his breath._

_"Holy shit," one of the surviving soldiers said as he slowly stood._

_"What the fuck..." another said, looking around at the blood soaked snow and the bodies of Chinese soldiers around them._

_"Crazy son of a bitch," their CO said, looking over at Steve and laughing. "You crazy son of a bitch, you did it." He and the others ran over to the power armor._

_The armor was opened and a now passed out Steve fell from it, one of the soldiers catching him before he could hit the ground._

_They rushed him to one of the tents and laid him down on a cot inside, giving him the medical attention he needed._

...

"Now we just sit and wait," Forsythe said, he, Curie, and Preston standing around the bed and staring down at Steve, whose head was now covered in bandages. "Thank you, both, for your help."

"Thank you for coming out all this way to save the General," Preston said.

"Well, it was the least I could do for all he did to help us." Forsythe looked over at Preston. "I suppose that's why you sent MacCready and Shaun out to get me, to repay the favor."

Preston gave him a perplexed look. "No, we hadn't sent anyone out. Wait, MacCready took Shaun with him? He's just a boy."

Forsythe shrugged. "Maybe to pull on my heart strings. I have to say it did play a part in my decision, so I guess he knew what he was doing."

"The probability of a boy surviving out there is very low," Curie said. "It was an irresponsible thing to do."

"Yes," Forsythe said, "it was, but it got me out here. What we need to be worrying about is whether the surgery worked." He checked Steve's pulse. "His heart rate seems to be getting back to normal and his fever has gone down, but that could just be the effect of the drugs. I will stay here overnight and continue to monitor him."

"I'm gonna go lay down for a while," Preston said. "Thank you again, doctor."

Forsythe nodded.

Curie stared down at Steve and then looked up at Forsythe. "How is that boy doing, doctor? The one who got sick?"

He gave her a confused stare. "You mean Austin? He's doing great. Back to his old self. Why do you ask?"

"I am happy to hear that," Curie said with a smile. "I was the one who made the cure. I am glad to know it worked as it was intended."

"You made it?" Forsythe said, surprised. "Wait, you're from Vault 81? I've never seen you there before."

"I was in the lab with the other doctors. One by one they died until I was left alone. But still, I continued what I was programmed to do and finally perfected the drug. Though, I was still unsure as it hadn't been used on a human, yet."

"Programmed? You're a synth?"

Curie nodded. "For a short time I have been one, yes. For most of my life I was a Miss Nanny robot."

"Interesting. You're going to have to tell me all about it."

"I would be happy to," she said with a smile.

The two looked over at Steve as he shifted and mumbled in his sleep.

...

_"Hey, Steve, over here," a young man said as he reached across the table and snapped his fingers in Steve's face._

_Steve broke from his gaze at the woman who stood at the bar. "Huh?"_

_The two young men with him laughed and shook their heads._

_Steve and his two closest Army buddies had been going to the Shamrock Taphouse for years. It was a nice place to get away from the atmosphere of the base and was filled with a lot of history, which his friend Kyle liked._

_"You should go talk to her."_

_"Shut up, Jack," Steve said in annoyance._

_"No, I'm serious," Jack said._

_"You're ignoring us for her, anyway, so you may as well make it less rude," Kyle said._

_"Go," Jack insisted. "Who knows. She might just find you tolerable."_

_"Ha ha." Steve rolled his eyes and finished off his beer. He glanced at his friends, who stared at him. "Okay, fine."_

_Steve stood up and took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. He pulled out a bottle of breath spray and spritzed some in his mouth._

_"Go," Jack said, more demanding this time._

_"Yeah, I can do this," Steve said, trying to bolster his courage. He took a step forward, keeping the momentum until he found himself standing next to the auburn haired woman. "Hi," he said to her nervously._

_"Hi," she said, giving him an unsure look._

_"Can.. can I buy you a drink?" he asked._

_"Maybe you should save that money and buy yourself one, instead," she replied. "You look like you could use something strong."_

_"I, uh, I'm sorry," he sighed. "My friends said I should talk to you."_

_"Because they have girlfriends and you don't, right?"_

_He stared down at the bar and shrugged. "I guess?"_

_She looked at him and laughed. "Nora."_

_"It's, it's nice to meet you, Nora."_

_"It's nice to meet you, too, ..." She stared at him, waiting._

_"Uh, Steve. Or Steven. Whatever you like better."_

_"I like Steven," she said with a grin. "So, Steven, what do you do for a living?"_

_"Wow, getting right to the point, huh?" He motioned the bartender for a drink. "I'm in the Army."_

_"Seriously?" she said, clearly not believing him._

_"Yeah, why?" he asked slowly._

_"I just figured guys in the Army were more... muscular, I guess."_

_Steve shrugged. "I guess I'm muscular enough to carry a rifle and get shot at." He looked at her and smiled, starting to feel more comfortable around her._

_"Oh, so you've fought in battles. I'm sorry."_

_He took a drink and shook his head. "Not yet. We're supposed to be shipped out to Alaska soon, though. Well, in like three months."_

_"And how long will you be there?"_

_"A year. Or more if I end up stationed there."_

_"Do you want to be stationed there?" She glanced at the bartender and gave him a nod, the man nodding back and getting her another drink._

_"Not really. I mean, I'll be closer to the fight, but Boston is my home. I'll kind of miss the place."_

_She grinned. "Well, it's not like it's going anywhere."_

_"I guess," he laughed. "So, Nora, what do you do? And why were you standing here drinking alone?"_

_"I'm a law student. And..." She sighed and stared down at her drink. "My boyfriend just broke up with me." She looked at him and gave a forced smile, failing to hide the pain she was feeling all over again._

_He gave an apologetic look. "I'm sorry to hear that. Also, this must be really awkward for you. I'll just..." He pointed over his shoulder to the table. "I'll just go."_

_"No," she said quickly, reaching out and gently grabbing his hand. "Stay. Please." She gave a laugh of disbelief and shook her head. "You must think I'm an idiot or something."_

_He smiled at her. "I don't know. A law student versus a guy who shoots stuff for a living. The idiot scale might be a little even there."_

_She laughed and looked down at the bar, acting like a shy little girl._

_"So, why'd the guy break up with you?" he wondered._

_She took a sip of her drink, staring off in front of her and shrugging. "I want to be a defense lawyer and he didn't like that. He wanted me to help defend the rich and powerful and corrupt and I didn't, so he ended it."_

_"Oh. Well, sounds like he didn't really love you, then."_

_"We'd been going out for almost a year and a half. And then suddenly he pulls this crap on me." She glared off in front of her. "A stupid mock trial against Med-Tek and that was it. He couldn't take anymore of me. I mean, sure, I wasn't the nicest to him during the trial, but isn't that the point? To be passionate and argue about what you think is wrong?" She let out a long sigh. "Now I've probably scared you away from me, too."_

_Steve grinned. "Well, I can't fully agree with you on Med-Tek, but I like that you're passionate about what you want to be."_

_"You can't seriously think that they do positive things for humanity," she said with a glare._

_He laughed, holding his hands up and backing off. "Maybe... maybe we should change the subject."_

_"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I'm just... Nevermind."_

_"No, look, I get it. I mean, you're probably right about them. I only know what I've heard, which could all be lies. You've obviously researched the place, so..."_

_Nora looked up at him with a smile and tucked the hair on her right side behind her ear. "Well, maybe I can-"_

_"Hey Steve," Jack called out as he and Kyle stood by the door. "We gotta get outta here. Like, ten minutes ago."_

_Steve looked up at the clock and saw that it was almost nine. "Damn it," he sighed. "I gotta get back to the base, but can I see you again?"_

_"Sure. How about we meet here."_

_"Same time next week?"_

_She smiled and nodded._

_"Great," he said with a smile. "I'll see you then."_

_"Good luck sneaking back onto the base."_

_"Thanks," he laughed before hurrying out the door._

...

"Nice legs," Piper teased.

MacCready, in his underwear and sitting on a bed while Forsythe tended to the gunshot wound to his leg, glared at her. "Shut up."

"Ever thought about ditching the pants full time?"

"Ever thought about shutting up?"

"Really?" Piper laughed. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"No, but I'm trying to be nice." He continued glaring at her. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Well, there's a little story going around about a certain group defeating the Brotherhood of Steel. I thought I'd interview some people about it for my next big article."

"We done?" MacCready asked Forsythe, who nodded and started to put his supplies away. "Well, Preston was in charge of that, so talk to him." He started putting his pants on. "Thanks, doc," he told Forsythe, who was walking towards the door.

"I thought Steve was in charge of the Minutemen," Piper wondered. "Is he still here?"

"He didn't agree with the plan, so he put Preston in charge of it."

"Wow, turmoil within the Minutemen. This could be my most dramatic story, yet."

MacCready sighed in annoyance. "There wasn't any turmoil. And this is more serious than you selling your stupid paper, okay? Steve almost died. He might still die."

She gave a shocked stare. "Wuh, wait, what? What... what do you mean? What happened?"

"He got injured during the attack. The doctor said he was bleeding inside his head. He performed a surgery that was supposed to help, but a couple of hours after it was done Steve had another seizure." He sat down and stared off, his expression showing how upset it all made him. "He's like the older brother I never had, you know? And I can't do a fuc... I can't do anything to help him."

Piper sighed sadly and sat down next to him. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't know."

"I know you didn't. Sorry for getting angry at you. And calling your paper stupid." He looked at her with a slight grin.

"Tch, yeah, insulting my paper really hurt," she said with a small laugh.

The two sat together in silence, both staring off in thought.

"The doctor says he made it through the night, which is a good sign." MacCready shrugged. "I'll take his word for it."

"I guess that's all you can do." She set her feet on the edge of the mattress and pulled her knees to her chest. "How's his son taking it?"

"He's... taking it, I guess. He's not crying as much. Whether that's an improvement I don't know."

"Poor kid."

MacCready had no reply, the both of them staring off in thought.

...

"Miss Curie?" Shaun asked as he walked up to her.

Curie stood on the northern part of the wall and stared at the mirelurks in the distance. "Mirelurks are such interesting creatures. I wonder if they originated from one type of crustacean or if their DNA consists of several species." She looked at Shaun and smiled. "I apologize. What did you need, Shaun?"

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"You can talk to me about anything."

"Do... do you know how many people were on that airship?"

"No, I'm afraid I do not. Why?"

Shaun looked down and shrugged. "Just wondering," he mumbled.

She gave a sorrowful look. "You are sad about it. About the people dying."

Shaun nodded. "Did we do the right thing? My dad might die because of it."

Curie gave a sad sigh. "Shaun, we do not know that. The doctor says it will take time."

"How much time?" Shaun asked as he started to get upset. "It's been almost two days. All I want is my dad back." He lowered his head as the tears rolled down his cheeks. "The people on the airship had families, too, right? And now they'll never see them again. We should have just left them alone."

"In an ideal world that would be the case, but this world is not so ideal."

Shaun clenched his fists and glared at the ground. "I wish the Institute was still around so me and my dad could have lived there instead. I hate this place." Head still bowed, he ran off.

"Shaun," Curie called after him. She watched as he continued running and sighed.

...

_"I'll miss you," Nora said as she stared lovingly up at Steve._

_The two stood together at the airport, near the terminal where Steve's plane was sitting._

_"I'll miss you, too." Steve leaned in and kissed her deeply._

_"Promise to come back to me," she said as tears welled up in her eyes._

_"I promise." He stared at her with a pained look. "I'm sorry."_

_"No," she said, shaking her head. "You told me about this the night we met. I knew what I was getting myself into. I just... I just didn't think it'd be this hard."_

_He forced a smile and nodded. "Me, neither."_

_"Sir," one of the airport workers said to Steve. "You're going to have to board now."_

_Steve looked at him and nodded. He then looked back at Nora. "I guess I gotta go."_

_She nodded. "Yeah, I guess."_

_The two kissed once more._

_"Take this," she said, handing him a photo of her. "So you don't forget who's waiting for you at home."_

_He took the photo and stared down at it. "Thank you." He looked at her and gave a quick kiss to her lips. "I love you."_

_"I love you, too."_

_They stared at each other for a few seconds before Steve stepped back, grabbing his bag beside him and turning towards the terminal. He glanced back at her and waved._

_Nora held in a sob and waved back._

_Steve sat on the plane, staring down at the photo, smiling and wondering how he got so lucky._

_He stood at the alter of the church his family attended, dressed in the best suit he could afford and watching his beautiful soon-to-be wife being walked down the aisle by her father._

_She kept her eyes on him the whole time, the most affectionate look on her face._

_"Isn't he the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?" Nora asked as she cradled the wrapped up newborn in her arms._

_"Being held by the most beautiful woman in the world," Steve said, looking down at her and the baby, his face beaming with pride._

_"Your father is such a charmer, Shaun," she said as she gently stroked the babies face with her index finger. "Will you grow up to be a charmer, too?"_

_"I'll teach him everything I know," Steve said with a laugh, staring at the two loves of his life and never wanting the moment to end._

_Steve opened his eyes, confused by his surroundings. Why was it suddenly so cold? Where was he? He looked up, running a hand over the frosted glass in front of him._

_Across the way was his wife and son. He was relieved to see them alive and safe. And then the voices came._

_He pounded weakly on the glass, looking for a way to open the door. The voices got louder and he looked up to see a man and a woman wearing a biohazard suit standing in front of where Nora and Shaun were._

_The door to Nora's cryogenic pod was opened and he watched as the woman took hold of Shaun. His wife struggled, not wanting to give him up._

_"No," he said, the strange man now yelling and pointing a gun at his wife. He pounded harder on the door, the pounding stopping when the gunshot rang out._

_The life drained from him when he looked up, his wife now limp, her brain matter spread all over the side of the pod. "No," he sobbed. "God, no. Nora. Nora!"_

_The man walked up to his door and peered into it. "At least we still have the backup..."_

_An enraged Steve stared down at him. He pounded on the glass until everything faded._

Steve gasped as he sat up in bed. Breathing heavily, he looked around the room in a panic.

"General," Preston said in shock, he, Forsythe, and Danse rushing over to him.

"It's okay," Forsythe said. "I just need you to calm down." He started to gently push Steve back to the bed when Steve hit his hands away.

"No," Steve shouted. "Nora, she's gone. She's... she's fucking gone!" He brought a hand up and held his head as he stared off, trying to understand. "Why? Godammit, why?!"

"Hey," Danse said in a stern tone. He placed his hands on Steve's shoulders and bent down, staring him in the eyes. "Look at me. Look at me!"

Steve looked up at Danse before quickly looking away. "My son," Steve cried. "Where's... I want to see my son!"

"You will," Danse assured him. "Once you've calmed down. I need you to take slow deep breaths, okay?"

Steve nodded and did as he was told.

"Now just lay down for a bit," Danse said, gently pushing him down. "We'll go get your son."

Steve continued his slow breaths, nodding as he stared with still panicked eyes at the ceiling.

"I'll go get him," Preston said before leaving the room.

...

MacCready and Piper sat next to each other, their backs against the radio booth in the middle of the courtyard.

Across the way, sitting against the far wall, was Shaun. He sat with his knees pulled up, his arms folded over them and his face resting against his arms. Curled up next to him was Dogmeat.

MacCready, a blank expression on his face, stared at the boy. "So, you get many interviews?"

"I got some," she sighed. "Nothing that will really help." She scoffed. "Diamond City is pretty much split between those liking the Minutemen and those saying the Minutemen are the enemy. Like, they're the new Institute or something."

He glanced at her. "Why would they think that?"

"Because people saw the Brotherhood of Steel as their saviors against synths. And now with them out of the picture synths will run free."

"The Minutemen hate the synths, too. Well, the robotic murderous ones."

Piper sighed. "But they accept the ones that look like people. Everyone's paranoid about them."

"Gee, I wonder why?" MacCready said dryly.

Piper scoffed. "Okay, I get it. Maybe..." She let out a long sigh. "Maybe I went too far. Or not far enough. I don't know. Look, I just... I just want to write something to try and unite everyone. To convince them that, hey, maybe the Brotherhood weren't the good guys we all thought they were. Instead I'm just getting quotes from gleeful Minutemen happy about how many people they killed."

"These people just won their first big battle. Of course they're going to gloat. What did you expect to get?"

"I don't know," she said in annoyance. "Maybe something more than 'yay they're all dead'."

"That'd make for a great headline, though," he teased. He watched as Preston walked up to Shaun, saying something to him before Shaun quickly stood and ran off. He gave Preston a questioning look as he started walking over. "What's up?"

"The General just woke up," he said in relief, a big smile on his face.

"He, he did?" MacCready smiled and let out a laugh. "Oh my god, that's... that's great. Can... can we see him?"

Preston nodded, watching as the two stood and hurried off. He then turned to the man running the radio. "Make an announcement that the General is recovering and that everything is good is the Commonwealth."


End file.
